New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- Karan Gupta, a 48-year-old Indian-origin former senior director at healthcare company Optum, has been sentenced to 36 months in prison in the US for his role in a scheme that defrauded his employer of more than $950,000.

Gupta, who is based in Walnut Creek, in the US state of California, was sentenced on August 24, before US District Judge Kate M Menendez. He had been found guilty by a federal jury on February 17 following a six-day trial, according to the US Department of Justice.

Gupta was a senior director at Optum, where he supervised a team that included his longtime friend, Shangraf Kaul.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Gupta hired Kaul as a data engineering manager on his team ...